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Reggie Miller, 800-plus others, take in Putnam scenery from atop their bicycles
If you thought you saw a 6-foot-7 former NBA All-Star and 3-point shooting champion riding a bike through Putnam County last week, your eyes are not deceiving you.
It was Reggie Miller.
The Indiana Pacers’ legend was one of 825 riders competing in the Dust Bowl 100 gravel road bicycle race, which started and ended at Eminence High School but saw 95 percent of its 100-mile course run through Putnam County.
The event’s third running saw its number of participants rise from 400 in 2021 and to 600 last year before making another jump of about 200 this year.
Event organizer Marc O’Leary, who expects the total to reach 1,000 next year, has chosen Putnam County to serve as the primary location for several reasons.
“Putnam County’s got about 33-34% of its roads with gravel surface, that makes it pretty convenient to be able to put together a gravel route for people to ride,” he said. “Another reason is it’s the closest gravel roads that I have to my house in Plainfield. When I want to go out and ride gravel roads, I usually drive 15 minutes out into Putnam County hop on gravel right there. I am able to ride for hours at a time.”
O’Leary enjoys the outdoors and the different views that Putnam County offers.
“The scenery is amazing once you get off I-70 and the other main roads there,” he said. “In the county, you really get into some beautiful country with some rolling hills. You get your farm fields, but then you also have some wooded and forested areas and quite a few creeks like Big Walnut Creek going through the county.
“It’s just really pretty to get out in the countryside.”
O’Leary, 38, is a graduate of Terre Haute North Vigo High School and Hanover College. At Hanover, he was the team’s 2006-07 Most Valuable Player and still holds the school record for hitting 12 of 12 shots from the field in a game. By day, O’Leary is a senior buyer with Cook Medical in Bloomington.
Also an accomplished rider, he says said that gravel is preferable for a lot of riders for reasons such as safety, scenery and a sense of exploration.
“It is definitely a challenge,” he said. “There’s no coasting in gravel. You can’t get up to speed and then stop pedaling, and have your bike carry you for a while. With gravel, you’ve got that extra resistance, and so you’re always constantly pedaling, which makes it a challenge in that regard. Another reason is safety. You don’t see much traffic on gravel roads, whereas when you ride on pavement or ride closer to town, you’re going to have cars around you and passing you all the time.
“On these country roads, you may see maybe two to three cars an entire day when you’re out right,” O’Leary added. “On our route we have a former county road that basically turns into a dirt trail through the woods, which again you wouldn’t see in your normal everyday travels.
“That sense of adventure and exploration for me is what got me interested in gravel riding, and I think it’s the same for a lot of people.”
O’Leary recruits a team of 125 volunteers each year, from family members to friends to other riding colleagues. He also solicits sponsorships for everything from pre-race doughnuts to a stage for the live music played by Putnam County musicians during the event.
He is very thankful for the support from every governmental or recreational entity which he has asked for assistance in conducting the event, which is the largest gravel race in Indiana and one of the largest in the country.
“The Putnam County Commissioners were the first stop that I made in 2021 when I was tossing around the idea of hosting the Dust Bowl, and all of the commissioners have been great to work with from the very first day,” O’Leary said. “Part of the route goes on the Vandalia Trail from Fillmore into Greencastle, so that involves the Parks and Pathways group has been great to work with on that. The Greencastle Parks and Recreation Department also allows us to use part of the route that goes through the city.”
The Putnam County Highway Department really came through this year, when two of the bridges on the route were out of service due to repairs.
“The highway department worked to get one of those bridges fixed and reopened a week before the Dust Bowl so it didn’t cause any issues with the race,” O’Leary added. “The Putnam County Visitors Bureau has provided support for the Dust Bowl 100 and always helps promote the race online.”
O’Leary’s day job helps him with an analytical summary of the Dust Bowl, and has found it greatly benefits Putnam County. In 2022, post-race surveys indicated that people spent at least $150,000 in the county on meals, gasoline and lodging.
O’Leary makes sure all of his pre-race information includes a list of the best places to eat and stay in Putnam County.
“In doing that we are trying to get the riders invested in the community, not just showing up to ride, but putting some money back into the local businesses.”
While the race annually features some of the top gravel riders in the state and Midwest region, the event is gaining national attention – hence the appearance of Miller for the first time this year.
Miller completed the entire 100-mile race (there are shorter versions of 80 and 44 miles for the less adventurous) with only one known spill. O’Leary has not talked to Miller since the completion of the race on Saturday, but through social media contacts has gotten positive reviews of the event.
“He said it was a great challenge and he really enjoyed the course and the organization of the event,” O’Leary said. “He is a sponsored rider on a very high-level team, and has made a call out to other top riders in the cycling community telling them the Dust Bowl 100 is a race they should put on their list as one they should try to do.”
Pre-race publicity let fans of Miller from his basketball days to know he was coming back to Indiana for the event.
Several fans lined the finish lines bearing signs of encouragement, and O’Leary even saw more evidence of support while traversing the county on Sunday afternoon to collect the many directional signs used in the race.
“We saw at least three or four houses on the route where homeowners had gone out and put up ‘Boom, baby’ signs in the yard,” he said. “We saw a hay bale with bikes stuck into it, and then the back of what looked like a rider was stuck through the hay bale with ‘Miller 31’ on the back. He’s a phenomenal person, and I had a chance to ride with him on Wednesday and he was approachable. Really down to earth.”
Miller had his own tent set up at Eminence and O’Leary noted he was extremely cordial with any fans who approached.
“He was great with anybody that came up to him and wanted a picture, an autograph or a selfie,” he said. “My oldest son had a chance to go up and talk to him for a minute and get an autograph after the race. Just having him come out to the race really increased the number of eyes and the visibility of the event.”
